Denton Review of Gleenanne Gang creating ‘hierarchy of victims’

Connla Young, Irish News, September 1st, 2025

Denise Mullen, in a white cardigan, with her father Denis before he was shot dead in September 1975

A REVIEW into the activities of a ruthless loyalist murder squad has been accused of creating a “hierarchy of victims”.

Campaigner Denise Mullen has raised concerns 50 years to the day since the killing of her father, and prominent SDLP member, Denis Mullen (37) near Moy in Co Tyrone.

The father-of-two was shot dead on September 1 1975, by the Glenanne Gang, which included members of the RUC, UDR and UVF.

It is believed to have been responsible for the murder of more than 120 people across mid-Ulster and further afield in the 1970s.

The gang has also been linked to the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bomb attacks, which claimed the lives of 33 people.

Its activities have been reviewed by the Kenova investigation team as part of Operation Denton.

A draft copy of the Operation Denton report has been circulated to the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) and Justice for the Forgotten, which campaigns for the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan attacks.

Other Victims excluded

However, it has now emerged that other groups and victims have not been given sight of the report before publication.

Ms Mullen, who as a three-yearold sat beside her dead father in a blood-stained nightdress, has questioned why some campaign groups have been given access to the report before publication while others have not.

“Why are they the only organisations that have received the Den-ton report?” she said.

“And if they are apparently showing this to certain families when we are all in this together – there should be no hierarchy of victims and survivors.

“I believe there is a hierarchy.” Ms Mullen emphasised she is not critical of the organisations that have received the report.

“How can the PFC speak for us all? I am not condemning the organisation, I just feel we should all be party to it,” she said.

“And if they are siphoning through it obviously the legal teams should be looking through it, my solicitors should be siphoning through it, to see if there are any corrections required etc.”

Ms Mullen, who is aligned to the South East Fermanagh Foundation victims’ group, believes all campaign groups should have access to the report prior to publication.

“I’m sorry, openness and transparency, equality, they should all go hand in hand… those organisations who are dealing with people like myself should all be party to it,” she said.

‘Why only them?’

“If they have got access to the Denton report, why only them?”

A spokesman for the Kenova investigation team said: “As part of our fact checking exercise for the Operation Denton final report we engaged with a number of stakeholders to assist with the factual accuracy of the report.

“It is important to clarify that these stakeholders had no editorial control over the content of the re-port or our findings but were able to offer comment on points of accuracy for our consideration.

“This element is an important part of the process to ensure we provide families and survivors with as much accurate information and detail as possible.”

Murdered SDLP man planning to flee north with young family

Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, September 1st, 2025.

A PROMINENT member of the SDLP shot dead by the notorious Glenanne Gang was planning to move his family across the border when the loyalist murder squad claimed his life.

Denis Mullen was gunned down by the Glenanne Gang near Moy, Co Tyrone, on September 1 1975 – 50 years ago today.

Now for the first time it has emerged that Mr Mullen believed his life was under threat and the fatherof-two had been planning to flee the north when the killer gang struck.

The 37-year-old was shot 17 times at his family home by members of the loyalist gang, which included members of the RUC and UDR and UVF.

Two men were later convicted for their part in the callous killing.

Returned to prison

In 2021 one of the gunmen, Garfield Beattie, a former member of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve, was sent back to jail for sending Mr Mullen’s daughter, Denise Mullen, a threatening letter signed “East Tyrone UVF”.

The activities of the gang have been reviewed by the Kenova investigation team as part of Operation Denton.

A draft copy of the final report has recently been circulated to some campaign groups, causing Ms Mullen, who has not been given access to the document, to raise concerns about a “hierarchy of victims”.

As a three-year-old she sat in shock beside her murdered father’s body, her blood-stained nightdress evidence of the horror the young child was forced to witness.

Minutes earlier the child, barely out of her toddler years, had been wakened from her sleep as the killer gang threw sods at the front of the isolated family home her father had been renovating.

While the dreadful sounds of the fateful night have been blocked from Ms Mullen’s memory, the colours and emotions thrust upon her are vivid.

She clearly recalls seeing “clay balls” thrown by the attackers to attract her father’s attention “running down the wall” of the cottage.

After getting out of bed she made her way to a hall where she saw her mother Olive, who was also a target of the killers, make her escape through a kitchen window.

Her father’s bullet-riddled body by that stage was lying at the front door of the family home.

“I can’t recall the shots, I don’t recall the noise” she said.

“But I got up out of bed, obviously there was noise, but I actually don’t hear that noise any longer.”

She reveals how in the aftermath of the attack she checked on her 13-month-old brother who was still asleep in his cot.

She then returned to her father’s lifeless remains.

“I can remember I had a wee pale blue nightie on me, with short sleeves and there was a wee tiny bow on the front of it,” she said.

‘I just sat there with Daddy’

“The nightie just went below my knee, and I just sat there with daddy.”

She can clearly remember the aftermath of the attack and the arrival of the SDLP’s Seamus Mallon – who would go on to become the north’s deputy first minister – who refused to allow the RUC to handle his close friend’s body.

He later helped her uncle, former Tyrone Gaelic footballer Pat Donaghy, place Mr Mullen into a waiting ambulance.

“I can see the colours, I can tell you the colours,” she said.

“There was five ambulance men standing in a row whenever Seamus Mallon and mammy’s brother Pat were putting daddy in the ambulance and the first one waved over at me.

“I can still see those five people clearly.”

She recalls a priest and a doctor attending the scene as the RUC, British army and ambulance arrived.

RUC refused to allow children to leave house

She revealed how the RUC refused to allow her and her brother to leave the house where their father had just been murdered.

Ms Mullen tells how two friends of the family, Tom and Maura McAree, also came to her home and eventually took her and her young brother from the murder scene.

She remains eternally grateful to the couple for their kindness.

“I can see the anguish on Maura’s face pleading with the RUC to let us out and they wouldn’t,” she said.

“They were apparently saying there could be a bomb in the house.”

Ms Mullen said she later returned to bed, pulled the bedclothes up to her eyes, and watched as police searched her family home.

Ms Mullen believes the loyalist attackers intended to kill both her parents.

A tested tactic of the Glenanne Gang was to target married couples – leaving their children without either parent.

“That was always their aim, to take out both parents to leave the children orphans,” Ms Mullen said.

Retaliation for PIRA ambush?

Her father was killed just weeks after former UDR man George McCall (22) was shot dead in the Moy area, in an attack believed to have been carried out by the IRA.

She believes her father may have been targeted by the Glenanne Gang in revenge for the earlier killing of Mr McCall.

Ms Mullen said she has been told the order to kill her parents came from MI5 tout Robin ‘The Jackal’ Jackson, a suspected British agent, who in turn “summoned” Mid Ulster loyalist William Corrigan.

Denise Mullen in the arms of her mother Olive, also pictured right, at her father’s graveside in 1975

He then assembled other members of the murder squad.

“It was decided then that Dinny Mullen was to be taken out,” Ms Mullen said.

Corrigan, who was shot dead by the IRA in October 1976, was later placed at the Mullen murder scene by another loyalist, William Parr.

Believed to be the getaway driver, Parr was also convicted of the murder of Mr Mullen and released after 11 years.

Other suspects included Edward Sinclair, a leading Orangeman and former B-Special.

Olive Mullen, who knew Corrigan, had raised concerns about his potential involvement in the death of her husband with police.

Suspicious ‘Nun’

He is believed to have attended the Mullen family home disguised as a nun less than a week before the killing.

“He was in the living room,” Ms Mullen explained.

“I can remember him as well. It was a long outfit, with Rosary beads hanging from it. Mammy went behind the clock and gave him a tenner.”

Ms Mullen said her mother became suspicious when she noticed the ‘nun’ was wearing work boots on leaving her home.

She also revealed that Corrigan had been spotted by her mother in the garden of a property the family had previously lived in.

Ms Mullen, herself a former SDLP and Aontú councillor, has for the first time told of her father’s concerns for his safety.

She said that in 1973 he had written to a friend in Co Wexford asking him to keep an eye out for a suitable property.

She said that after the ‘nun’, believed to be UVF man Billy Corrigan in disguise, visited her home her father took his family to Co Wexford for the weekend.

“And daddy [and his friend] took a big long walk and he said daddy told him then ‘I’m worried something is going to happen, would you look out for a site or a house or something for me – will you start with a house, because I’m going to move very quick’.

“That was on the Saturday and Sunday.

“We came home on the Sunday and daddy was shot on the Monday.”

She added that after Mr McCall was killed loyalists were overheard saying “let’s go and get Mullen”.

In days after the killing of the former UDR man her father placed a gate on the lane to his home.

Impact of death on family

Ms Mullen spoke about the impact the murder of her father had on her family.

She reveals how her mother’s mental health “was bad for years” after the attack.

Now suffering from dementia, Ms Mullen said medical experts believe the murder of her father had a “serious impact” on her mother who has been “caught in a warp of that event”.

“My mother has had to receive extra medication to stop that,” she said.

She said the wider family was also impacted.

“I was 10 years old before I told anybody what I saw,” she said.

“My mother wasn’t well, there were no lifelines there.”

She said both her grandmothers died the year after her father and her family never returned to the house he was killed in.

She reveals how she used to dread her father’s anniversary as it usually coincided with a return to school after the summer holidays.

Punished at school

Ms Mullen tells how as a child she was beaten at school for being late after attending her father’s anniversary Mass each year.

“I was in a era where two rulers were Sellotaped together… so I had the legs, knuckles and hands slapped off me,” she said.

“Mammy used to get a free calendar… I used to look up every year to see was September 1 going to fall on a school day because I knew what was ahead of me.”

Ms Mullen said it didn’t matter that she was attending an anniversary Mass.

“It was the first day back at school and they were setting a standard that other ones shouldn’t be coming in late.”

A senior member of the ambulance service, which in the 1970s was unusual for a Catholic, Mr Mullen bought a new Volkswagen Golf in the months before he was murdered.

He also owned an older Austin 1100, with both vehicles parked at the family home the night he was targeted.

“We have a picture from the newspapers and the red Golf is completely saturated with bullets and daddy’s Austin 1100 wasn’t even touched.

“That was a sign of not letting nationalists get ahead of themselves,” Ms Mullen said.

She added that she now wants to know “who it was decided to target my parents”.

“I don’t want to send people back to jail, I just want to know who it was authorised my parent’s murder,” she said.

Mr Mullen was one of seven men killed on September 1 1975, by loyalists and republicans, including five men at Tullyvallen Orange Hall, near Altnamackin, in south Armagh

'Oh my God, that's my mother': How a news report of Troubles funeral changed her life

Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, September 1st, 2025

MURDER OF A BROTHER SHE NEVER KNEW LED TO MARTINA DOUGLAS REUNITING WITH HER BELFAST FAMILY. THEY NOW WANT JUSTICE NOT ONLY FOR UVF VICTIM SEAMUS, BUT FOR TRAGIC MUM MADELINE

The first time Martina Douglas saw her birth mother was in archive news footage of her walking behind the coffin of her murdered son, her face etched with grief.

Seamus Morris was just 18 when he was murdered in a sectarian attack as he walked along Etna Drive in Ardoyne in 1988. Lorry driver Peter Dolan was killed in same atrocity carried out by the UVF.

His mother Madeline Morris, nee Lynch, never recovered.

But her children were unaware their mother's sadness hid another loss — that of the child she was forced to give away.

A little girl born in the Marionville mother and baby home and removed from her for adoption — a pain that she carried with her to the grave, dying of cancer aged just 41.

Knew she was adopted

Martina always knew she was adopted.

Her father told her that he and his wife had travelled to Belfast and chose her because she was so special.

As a child she was happy with that story, but five years ago she decided to look into her background.

“I went for my birth certificate first but all I got was a name, which was Madeline Lynch, then mummy and daddy took sick, so I sort of put it on the back-burner,” she said.

After the death of her adopted parents a few years later, she tried again.

“It was very hard, there was no one willing to even pick up a phone or answer any questions,” she added.

“I was an only child, so I was quite lonely. My mum and dad were fantastic and I had a great childhood, but when they went out I was always petrified that something would happen to them.

“I was eventually given a social worker to help and she was able to tell me I was born in Marionville in Belfast, and so I found out the stories told to me as a child were not really true.

The Good Shepherd

“There is one person from the Good Shepherd who does the research. In my file was a tiny piece of paper that said I was born on April 9, 1968 and adopted on April 28, and Madeline went home that same day.

“It said Madeline is from a highly respected family and the maternal father is not named, but also from a highly respected family.

“The parish priest had arranged it all.”

Martina said through her own research she discovered her birth mother had died.

She recalled: “I thought, well that's it, I won't even be able to get a photograph.

“Then my friend and I Googled and that's how I found out about Seamus, I found a funeral clip on RTE and was able to watch it on my phone.

‘That’s my mother’

“It was of her walking in the funeral, and I just said: 'Oh my God, that's my mother'.

While Martina was piecing together Madeline's life, her siblings were still oblivious.

Roisin Morris, who turned 13 on the day brother Seamus was murdered, had been researching their family tree for her son's school project and had posted on a local forum.

Martina came across the post.

“It was the exact same date of birth, I said to my husband Liam: 'That's the same date'. It was too much of a coincidence.”

Their mother had never confided in them about her adopted child, but her children say she “carried a sadness about her”.

It was Lisa who was contacted first and told she had a sister and that her mum had been in a mother and baby home.

Lisa said: “I got in the car and cried the entire way home. I couldn't tell my husband and couldn't tell my kids. It took me three days of crying before I could even tell Roisin.”

Roisin also cried when given the shock news: “It wasn't because we had a sister, I cried for my mummy. I cried for what she went through, I cried that she'd suffered so much.

“She lost Seamus and had cancer twice, she was 18 in the mother and baby home and Seamus was 18 when he was murdered.”

Lisa added: “We watched her (mum) cry every day from Seamus was murdered.

“We knew her and knew her nature and know she must have got up every day with a broken heart and couldn't tell anyone, couldn't say to anyone.”

Siblings meet regularly

The siblings have now all met, and speak regularly. From being an only child, Martina now has a big extended family.

However, they remain angry at the circumstances.

Madeline Morris will not be included in the mother and baby home redress scheme because she died before the proposed cut-off date.

Under plans drawn up by the Stormont Executive, only families of those victims who died after September 29, 2011 will be eligible for redress payments.

The sisters recently engaged with DUP MLA Brian Kingston at a debate in north Belfast and he told them he would look at the current criteria.

Mr Kingston sits on the Executive Office scrutiny committee overseeing the scheme.

Lisa added: “We don't care about the payment, what we do care about is that mummy will not be recognised, that all that pain she carried silently will be brushed under the carpet.”

“We can't let that happen,” added Roisin.

“I feel like we owe it to her to make sure that what happened to her, that awful stigma that she didn't deserve to carry in life doesn't get to follow her in death.”

Fighting for Seamus

The family have also been fighting for justice for Seamus after a damning Police Ombudsman's report released in April found multiple failings by the RUC.

It said a VZ58 rifle recovered in Belfast in late September 1988 was the murder weapon, but was never forensically linked, meaning vital lines of enquiry were never followed up.

Conor, Seamus' younger brother, narrowly escaped death in the attack. He gave a description of one of the loyalist terrorists involved, but police did not show him photographs of UVF suspects, nor was he asked to attend an identification parade.

The Ombudsman said: “In the six months prior to the murders, there was intelligence available to the RUC about the identities of north Belfast UVF members and their criminal activities, that the UVF had acquired weapons from the arms importation, stored them at the social club and used them in murders and attacks in Belfast, including north Belfast.

“However, my investigation has not identified evidence that police initiated an investigative response to this intelligence or implemented disruptive tactics in respect of UVF activities at the 'North Belfast Social Club' prior to the murders of Seamus Morris and Peter Dolan.”

The main suspect's alibi was never checked, nor were clothes and shoes seized and tested.

“We are still trying to digest what was in the Ombudsman's report, because we really weren't expecting that kind of detail,” Roisin said.

“This year has been tough, I'd be lying if I said it hasn't had an impact, but we just feel we owe it to our mummy and Seamus to keep on pushing for justice.”

Lisa added: “It's definitely taking its toll — but we are not going to stop.”

'It's poignant for me': Orangeman on sitting where grandad killed 50 years ago

Jonathan McCambridge and Cillian Sherlock, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, September 1st, 2025

An Orangeman has spoken of the poignancy of attending meetings sitting in the same chair at the same table where his grandfather was murdered 50 years ago.

Alasdair Cooke said it is important people do not forget the Tullyvallen massacre, where IRA men shot dead five Orange Order members close to Newtownhamilton in south Armagh on the night of September 1, 1975.

Gunmen burst into the isolated Tullyvallen Orange Hall during a meeting of Tullyvallen Guiding Star Temperance LOL 630 and opened fire, murdering John Johnston (80), James McKee (73) and his son Ronnie McKee (40), Nevin McConnell (48) and William Herron (68), who died two days later. Six other men were injured in the attack.

A 2lb bomb was also left outside the hall. It was defused by the Army.

A memorial plaque in the hall remembers the five victims as well as fellow lodge members William Meaklim, who was murdered two weeks before the attack, and Joseph McCullough, who was killed five months after.

The Orange Order marks Orange Victims' Day on September 1 when it remembers all 344 members who were killed during the Troubles.

Largest Orange loss of life

The Tullyvallen attack was the largest loss of life suffered by the order in a single attack.

Mr Cooke is the Worshipful Master of LOL 630 at Tullyvallen. His grandfather James McKee occupied the same role when he was killed in the 1975 attack.

Mr Cooke joined with survivors of the attack, Berry Reaney and John Henry, at the Orange Hall to remember those who lost their lives.

He said: “We mark the 50th anniversary of the attack on this hall by terrorists, when five members of this lodge were murdered.

“Our memorial plaque has seven names on it. Brother William Meaklim was murdered just two weeks prior to September 1 and Brother Joseph McCullough was murdered about five months later, just a stone's throw from the hall.”

Mr Cooke recalled the night the massacre took place.

He said: “It was a totally routine lodge meeting, as happened every month. That night the lodge had opened and was conducting its business as usual when the back door was kicked in and two gunmen entered and immediately opened fire indiscriminately on the men sitting around the table in the middle of the hall.

“Another gunman fired through a window at the men inside.”

Worshipful Master

He added: “My grandfather James McKee was Worshipful Master of the lodge at the time and he was murdered sitting in a chair at the top of the table.

“It is the position I now occupy within the lodge as Worshipful Master and it is particularly poignant for me to come to meetings here and sit in the same chair at the same table that he sat in when he was murdered.”

Mr Cooke said a memorial service is held every year.

He said: “This year marks the 50th anniversary. It is important to continue these services because it gives a degree of support to those who were impacted directly by the attack.

“It shows that the community cares, the community supports them, and the truth about their loved ones is being told.”

Kenny Donaldson, the director of the South East Fermanagh Foundation victims' organisation, said he also has a family connection to the attack.

He said: “My late granny's first cousin John Johnston was the eldest of the victims.

“John was a retired farmer from Cloghoge area outside Crossmaglen, where my family continue to live to this day.”

Mr Donaldson added: “For years I attended youth club in Tullyvallen Orange Hall with my brothers, not fully appreciating the happenings within that hall, being ignorant to the fact that the table which was used to support monitors for computer games was the lodge table which carried significant scorched damage from the bullets which struck it on that fateful night.

“It is accepted that the stability of that table may in part of helped save lives and additional physical injuries for some of the survivors.”

The Orange Order will mark its victims' day today.

Leaders will attend at act of remembrance for all victims in Loughgall in Co Armagh in the morning and a service of remembrance will take place in Tullyvallen Orange Hall in the evening, with a moment's silence at 9.30pm — the time of the attack.

Tomorrow, an exhibition entitled Moving Tributes will open in the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall in Londonderry featuring more than 60 banners and Lambeg drums bearing the portraits of murdered members.

'The walls were closing in,' says ex-IRA man who self-deported over ICE fears

Catherine Fegan, Belfast Telegraph, September 1st, 2025

DERRY MAN FLEES US AFTER 40 YEARS, SAYING HE FEARED HE WOULD DIE IN A CELL IF DETAINED

Matthew 'Matt' Morrison said he wouldn't survive in an American immigration holding cell.

“I wouldn't have my medication,” the 69-year-old told his newpaper this week.

“They would take my brace off my legs. They would take my stick. The fact is 12 or 13 people have died this year alone [in US immigration detention centres]. So, you understand the type of fear I had.”

Morrison, a former member of the IRA, had been living in the US for almost 40 years when he decided to “self-deport” back to Ireland over fears that he might be picked up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Originally from Derry, Morrison moved to St Louis, Missouri, in 1985 after spending 10 years in prison.

In 1976, he was imprisoned over attempted murder in an IRA raid on a British army barracks.

Worked as psychiatric nurse

Morrison got married in the United States after his release, later had two children and worked as a psychiatric nurse.

His immigration status previously made headlines in the late 1990s, when the US immigration service tried to get him and six other former IRA members, who became known as “the deportees”, sent home due to their past convictions.

The deportees were Brian Pearson, Gabriel Megahey, Noel Gaynor, Gerald McDade, Robert McErlean and Mr Morrison.

Their deportation was terminated in 2000 when former US president Bill Clinton intervened in the cause and said halting their deportation would “support and promote the process of reconciliation” that was still in its early stages in the North.

However, because they weren't on a path to citizenship, the six men still had to live with restrictions and regularly check in with the government.

With US president Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office last January, the threat of deportation loomed even larger.

In May, Gaynor, who had a heart condition, died at home in Olean, New York. As with the other deportees, Gaynor's status in the United States was dependent on an annual work reauthorisation.

Security Benefits cut

In his final months of life, he had been informed that his case was being reviewed. Waiting months without annual work authorisation approval, his Medicare and social security benefits were cut off.

In June, Megahey received a letter from the US Department of Homeland Security ordering him to leave the country immediately.

Morrison expected a similar letter. Although his work authorisation expires next month, he said he didn't want to sit around waiting and worrying.

“The walls were closing in slowly but surely,” he said.

“My work authorisation came late in November and because of that I lost my driver's licence.

“So I booked a test, passed it and when I went to go and get my licence, they told me that my status had been changed from 'deferred action' status to 'visitor' status.

“No one had notified me, so when that happened we didn't know what we were facing.”

Morrison's fears over ICE detention grew — heightened by stories about immigrants being detained at routine appointments regardless of legal status.

On July 21, he boarded a one-way flight from Cleveland to Dublin with his wife Sandra Riley Smith, leaving behind the life he had built in St Louis. This included leaving behind grown children, his grandchildren and many friends.

“I wouldn't last in an ICE detention centre,” Morrison said.

“You have to weigh it all up and that's what we did.

“I was in nurse management for 19 years. I ran a regular medical ER. I worked in paediatric ER. I worked with the St Louis County Police Academy college programme for seven years.

“The point I'm trying to make isn't a matter of going over my work history, it's the fact that no matter what I did, I was always going to be regarded as a terrorist.

“But it has got incredibly bad for hundreds of thousands of people in the States, and families are being forced to make very difficult decisions.”

10,000 undocumented Irish

It's estimated there are around 10,000 undocumented Irish immigrants across the US, but exact figures are difficult to come by.

Since January, the Trump administration has intensified the enforcement of its immigration policies, carrying out widespread arrests at immigration courts across the US.

There have been reports that the administration requires at least 1,500 arrests per day by ICE.

No statistics are available for the number of Irish people who have been detained and deported since January.

However, the Trump administration has said more than 152,000 illegal immigrants have been deported since January 20.

Deportations are carried out by ICE.

The US government has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away their legal status, and deporting them to prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement: “If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest.”

Brian O'Dwyer, a veteran Irish-American lawyer and well-known immigration activist, said while there are no figures available on the numbers choosing to self-deport, like Morrison, many undocumented Irish are not willing to wait for that knock on the door.

‘Campaign of cruelty’

“The pattern has appeared now very significantly that there is a deliberate campaign of cruelty being waged to get people to self-deport,” Mr O'Dwyer said.

“They are making people so frightened and miserable that they give up and go back to their original countries.

“We have seen a number of the Irish that have been picked up. These are people who are on over-stays who had been on parole, so they had regularly reported, so there is no particular reason to think that they would evade deportation.

“They had complied. There is a number of things in the law where you are allowed to say, 'OK you got me, give me 10 days for me to get my affairs in order and I promise to leave'.

“In all these instances they have been refused that type of arrangement and they have been put into detention.”

Back home now in Derry, Morrison is facing a fresh set of challenges and he pointed out that others returning home from a life in the US have similar issues.

“Even opening a bank account or getting insurance is a big problem,” he said.

“People from the diaspora are coming home and practical things, like getting a driver's licence, is a big issue.

“All this brings up issues for the Irish Government because they are failing to address these issues for people ­returning. It's not a decision that is made easily.

A stranger in his own land

“I have a son and a daughter, grandchildren, and leaving them is not easy. I haven't come back to the Derry that I left behind.

“It's been almost 40 years.

“I'm glad to see my family and friends and they have been very supportive, but I feel sad about being separated from my son and my daughter, my grandkids. It's a mixture of feelings.”

Mr O'Dwyer said he believes people on deferred action are being targeted because they are “low-hanging fruit”.

“Deferred action was where they found they had violated the immigration laws by overstaying their visas, but they had been given through humanitarian reasons, or other reasons, what was called deferred action, which meant they were told ICE would take no action against them,” he said.

“As part of that, they had to report - basically like a parole - to the ICE office every six months, and even during the first Trump administration, no action was taken against them.

“But now when people are doing that, they are complying with the law, complying with their obligations, the cuffs are going on and they are being immediately whisked away.

“They are taken to a prison eight, 10, 14 hours away from their home and that is a complete reversal of what has happened in the past.

“There are people we know that are heading home because the game isn't worth the gamble.”

New Yorker Dan Dennehy is an advocate for immigration reform and current vice-president of the Council for America-Ireland Relations.

Changed US environment

Speaking about the situation in the US, he said that having an Irish accent was once seen as a blessing, but is now a curse for the undocumented.

“ICE agents are looking to get the stats up,” he said.

“There's certain parts of the country where an Irish accent is not a blessing.

“I would say certainly on trains and buses near the border, your accent could actually be the thing that makes them pick you to be interviewed.

“People have to be careful. The border patrol has been given a far wider range under the current administration and they have a little bit more free rein.

“We're experiencing what I would say the worst of it right now.

“We keep hearing stories about people having threats to their visas, about green cards being ripped up.

“We have people who are self-deporting, because it's expensive to stay in this country when you're facing annual interviews with ICE because you have to have an attorney.”

Politicians told to show ‘bravery and unity’

John Manlrey, Political Correspondent, Irish News, September 1st, 2025

THE Stormont executive needs to show “political bravery and unity” in order to tackle mounting challenges across the north’s failing public services, according to an independent think tank.

Pivotal’s latest biannual tracker of the regional administration’s performance says a “step-change” is required and that ministers need to address persistent problems, while delivering tangible improvements in people’s daily lives.

The report highlights how there were pledges from executive ministers to work together when the devolved institutions were restored 18 months ago but that the positive words have not been matched with decisions or actions that will make a real difference.

It notes how health waiting lists remain unacceptably high and accessing GP services is still difficult, while efforts to boost affordable housing remain below the necessary levels, and policing numbers are still below what is required.

‘Lack of substance behind some headline Stormont policy aims’

Pivotal describes the executive’s programme for government as “ambitious about change” but points out how there is “insufficient funding and a lack of specific actions to underpin many of its aims”.

Among the areas of concern are low productivity with “as yet no clear plans for change”, an anti-poverty strategy “met by widespread criticism”, and a failure so far to publish a longer-term investment strategy, which was due to sit alongside the programme for government.

Policies lack substance

“Recent months have exposed a lack of substance behind some headline policy aims, for example the anti-poverty strategy, the housing supply strategy and the hospital reconfiguration framework,” the think-tank says.

“There are also significant concerns about how the executive plans to tackle some of our biggest long-term challenges. The decades-long underinvestment in wastewater systems has resulted in an infrastructure crisis that has reduced or eliminated new building capacity in large swathes of Northern Ireland.”

The report says “unresolved tensions” have also emerged between different policy objectives and plans: “A court intervention halted redevelopment of the A5, which is a key part of rejuvenating the western transport corridor, based on recent climate change legislation – a solution needs to be found.

“There has been little movement on addressing the blue-green algae crisis in Lough Neagh. Politicians from all but one of the executive parties are opposed to the Nutrients Action Programme despite improving water quality being a programme for government priority.”

United approach needed to make tough choices

The report urges ministers to “show unity of purpose and have the courage to make tough choices for the benefit of everyone”.

It calls for “credible plans to address the biggest policy challenges” and a multi-year budget to enable planning and reform.

Public service transformation also needs advance, while preparation for the ageing population needs to get underway.

Pivotal director Ann Watt said the return of a stable executive after significant periods of collapse was welcome but that “positive messaging and ambitions for courageous, cooperative government” have not been matched with real action. “Efforts to improve public services have been slow and in many cases, such as health and social care and housing, the general public’s experience of those services has seen no tangible improvement from a year or two ago,” she said.

“Perhaps more worrying is the deeper lack of progress on some of Northern Ireland’s most difficult and most important challenges. There is little sign of agreement from ministers on wastewater infrastructure, real plans to address poverty, or how to fix Northern Ireland’s historically low productivity.”

Ms Watt said it increasingly clear there were “conflicts between some of the government’s stated priorities”.

“Development of the A5 was stopped because of a court ruling on climate change legislation. Cleaning up Lough Neagh is a clear aim but there is significant opposition to the Nutrients Action Programme,” she said.

“These are huge challenges and meeting them requires political bravery and unity from the executive. Tough decisions need to be made – and ministers need to present a united front. So far, we have not seen that they are prepared to make the collective decisions needed.”

“There is little sign of agreement from ministers on wastewater infrastructure, real plans to address poverty, or how to fix Northern Ireland’s historically low productivity.

Police vow those behind intimidation will feel full force of law

Niamh Campbell, Belfast Telegraph, September 1st, 2025

THE PSNI last night vowed to “use every power at our disposal” after four Catholic families were ordered by loyalists to leave a mixed housing development in north Belfast.

Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said the intimidation in the Oldpark area is “outrageous and totally unacceptable”. The North Belfast MP said he is seeking an urgent meeting with police to discuss their response.

“Residents have the right to live safely, free from intimidation and violence,” he said.

It comes after reports that the West Belfast UDA had pulled out of a deal to stop attacks on a mixed housing development.

PSNI District Commander Superintendent Allister Hagan said: “I want to be clear — intimidation will never be tolerated. The people of north Belfast deserve to live without fear or coercion, and those who attempt to control communities through threats or violence will face the full weight of the law.”

And the PSNI said it has “strengthened our policing footprint in the area” after reports the UDA had pulled out of a deal to stop attacks on a mixed housing development in Oldpark.

Four Catholic families have been told to leave immediately by the loyalist terrorists.

Finucane seeks urgent meeting with PSNI

Mr Finucane said he is seeking an urgent meeting with police to discuss their response. He added: “Everyone must stand against this criminality. We need to see and hear a united political response to this sectarian intimidation, including from unionist representatives.

“This is not an isolated issue, and it requires all political parties and relevant agencies to stand together, face it down, and provide full support to the victims. Residents have the right to live safely, free from intimidation and violence.”

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said: “I have been working with residents over the last few months but the current situation has made things unbearable for families living there.

“I've been in contact with the PSNI and the housing association, and are seeking to meet with them again urgently this week. I've told them before and will tell them again that if residents are put out of these homes due to sectarian intimidation then we need to seriously consider not offering these houses to people who are deemed 'suitable' by local paramilitaries.

“No one has the right to control our housing system, it should be fair and mixed housing should be the norm.

“This sort of behaviour should be condemned by all parties in north Belfast and all should use their responsibility to calm the situation.”

The PSNI said in a statement: “We have strengthened our policing footprint in the area and are making full use of the wide range of tools and tactics available to us to disrupt criminality and keep people safe.”

District Commander Superintendent Allister Hagan added: “I want to be clear - intimidation will never be tolerated. The people of north Belfast deserve to live without fear or coercion, and those who attempt to control communities through threats or violence will face the full weight of the law.

“We will continue to use every power at our disposal to tackle those involved in criminality; however; policing is most effective when it is supported by the community we serve. I would appeal directly to anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact us. By working together, we can ensure that those intent on causing harm are brought to justice.”

All parts of Unionism should be part of the political mainstream in a re-imagined Ireland

Ben Collins, Irish News, September 1st, 2025

IN NORTHERN Ireland, there is the increasing prospect of constitutional change in the coming years. I believe a united Ireland can lead to a better quality of life for all who live across our island.

The region was created in 1921 by the British government to have a permanent Unionist and Protestant majority. It now has neither. These demographic changes are just one part of the building momentum. The beauty of the Good Friday Agreement was that you could be Irish, British, European or a combination of all three. Brexit undermined this.

The border down the Irish Sea and the special arrangements for Northern Ireland have increased the dynamics for the all-Ireland economy. Britain has struggled in the post-Brexit arrangements. This is not surprising as Brexit reimposed barriers which had previously been removed within the European Union by the creation of the Single Market. This removal of trade friction had been advocated by the British Conservative government in the 1980s. How times change.

Peter Robinson, former leader of the DUP and former first minister, has previously stated that Unionism should prepare for a border poll. It is extraordinary to consider that a Fianna Fáil taoiseach, Micheál Martin, will not prepare for a border poll in the current circumstances. He has expressed his admiration publicly for Wolfe Tone, the United Irishman who wanted to bring Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter together. I can think of no better way to do this than through Irish unity. The border on the island of Ireland is a source of division and the best way to end that is through unity. Reunification is reconciliation.

On the basis of recent opinion polls and election results in Britain, Reform and the Conservatives could form a coalition government after the next Westminster election. This will mean three things: increased hostility to Europe, a desire to reduce immigration further and a determination to unpick international agreements when these are perceived to be restricting the Reform far right agenda.

Nigel Farage is no friend of the Union. Brexit is an English Nationalist project. He has previously stated that he expects there to be a united Ireland in the future. Unionists in Northern Ireland should be wary of placing their faith in him to protect their place in the UK. His comments about renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement to remove the inclusion of the European Convention on Human Rights must be firmly rejected by the Irish Government, should he get into government after the next election.

“ Westminster has been a cold house for Unionism over the last 100 years. A Unionist MP from Northern Ireland has not been part of the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That’s 80 years outside the corridors of power

Those outside Ireland do not have the right to change the agreement. He could conceivably call a border poll at short notice as a wrecker’s charter, knowing that the Irish Government has not prepared. In those circumstances, with no reunification plan in place, a vote for or against unity could lead to chaos across Ireland. That is why we need to plan and prepare now.

The rightward drift of politics in Britain and the desired removal of rights is a source of serious concern for many people across Ireland. Just as Brexit being implemented in Northern Ireland despite the region’s vote to remain shifted the dial towards Irish unity, so we can expect a further move if Reform with or without the Conservatives, becomes the next British Government and seeks to implement their far-right agenda.

I want to see all parts of Unionism brought into the Irish political mainstream. Westminster has been a cold house for Unionism over the last 100 years. A Unionist MP from Northern Ireland has not been part of the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That’s 80 years outside the corridors of power. Northern Ireland has been semi-detached, at best, from the British political mainstream. But things can be different in the future.

I do not want what is now Northern Ireland to suffer the same fate after Irish unity. We must bring all of the province of Ulster into the centre of Irish politics. While political unionism is unlikely to engage with the conversation about a New Ireland before a referendum, there are already those within civic unionism who are having these discussions in their homes, pubs, restaurants and in places of work.

The conflict is over, and any change will solely be the result of a democratic process. The British economy will continue to struggle with the self-inflicted harm of Brexit. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the decision to leave the EU will be reversed for a generation, if ever. We have an option for a different future, for peace and prosperity, as part of a New Ireland fully within the EU. It is one we should take for ourselves and the generations which come after us.

Ben Collins is the author of The Irish Unity Dividend and Irish Unity: Time to Prepare, both published by Luath Press.

Good Friday Agreement ‘doesn’t prevent the UK leaving the ECHR’

Jonathan McCambridge, Irish News, September 1st, 2025

CLAIMS that the UK cannot withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because of commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement are “entirely groundless”, a think tank has claimed.

One of the authors of the paper from the Policy Exchange said public debate about human rights law reform has been “distorted” by the repeated assertion that withdrawal from the ECHR would breach the historic 1998 peace deal that was backed by referendums on both sides of the Irish border.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ordered a review into whether the UK should quit the ECHR, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has long supported leaving it.

In a speech last week to launch his party’s plans to tackle illegal migration, Mr Farage said the Good Friday Agreement could be “renegotiated” to remove references to the convention.

His comments were criticised by some politicians in Northern Ireland who argued the ECHR underpins the agreement.

Nothing in peace process requires UK it accept ECHR

But Policy Exchange said “nothing in the UK’s commitments to the peace process in Northern Ireland requires it to remain a part of the ECHR”.

The paper states: “When one considers the Belfast Agreement carefully, noting the relationship between the British-Irish Agreement (the treaty) and the Multi-Party Agreement (the political agreement), it is clear that the Belfast Agreement does not forbid the UK (or Ireland) from exercising its right in international law to withdraw from the ECHR.

“The British-Irish Agreement does not refer to the ECHR at all and none of its terms suggest in any way that the UK or Ireland were undertaking to remain member states of the ECHR in perpetuity.”

It continues: “Whatever the merits of UK withdrawal from the ECHR, nothing in the Belfast Agreement rules it out as a viable course of action.

“In choosing to exercise the UK’s right to withdraw from the ECHR, a future government would neither be flouting the UK’s international obligations under the Belfast Agreement nor failing to respect the political settlement that grounds the peace process.”

One of the authors of the paper, Professor Richard Ekins, said: “Public debate about human rights law reform has been distorted by the repeated assertion that withdrawal from the ECHR would breach the Belfast Agreement.

“In fact, neither the letter nor the spirit of the Belfast Agreement in any way requires the UK – or Ireland – to remain within the ECHR.

“And the agreements reached with the EU after Brexit confirm the point, leaving it open to the UK to choose to leave the ECHR.”

The paper said that if the UK did leave the ECHR it would be “important for the British government… to engage closely with the different parties in Northern Ireland to reassure them that the UK’s withdrawal from the ECHR will not unbalance relations between – the parity of esteem between – the different communities.”

It also said the Windsor Framework, the agreement over post-Brexit trading, does not rule out UK withdrawal from the ECHR.

Downing Street has previously ruled out leaving the ECHR, with Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman saying: “The ECHR underpins key international agreements, trade, security and migration and the Good Friday Agreement.”

Lyons’ dossier on Vance Ulster links debunked

John Breslin, Irish News, September 1st, 2025

DURING his visit to Washington in March, Stormont communities minister Gordon Lyons really wanted to deliver a hard-backed booklet to JD Vance detailing the recently installed vice-president’s direct links to Ulster.

It was a project Mr Lyons ordered within days of President Donald Trump winning the US election in November.

Things did not quite work out as planned for the “top-priority” mission.

A researcher was hired in the hope of tracing a link between an 18th century emigrant called Andrew Williamson Vance, and Coagh, Co Tyrone, to the vice-president.

This line had a storied history that included prominent clergymen and claims of one dying during the 1689 Siege of Derry.

In the foreword to a later-finished booklet detailing the research, signed by Mr Lyons and planned to be presented to Mr Vance, it was stated that the “theory was that Andrew Williamson Vance who was born around 1666 in Ireland was considered the immigrant ancestor”.

However, just weeks before the St Patrick’s Day visit there were problems. The researcher had hit the “proverbial brick wall” and was telling the department “no definitive link could be found”.

Undeterred, department officials decided to go ahead and put together two dozen copies of a glossy 24-page dossier, downgraded from hardback to “coated” paper as time was running out, but still claiming the link with Andrew Williamson Vance. It still cost £2,251 to produce, it has emerged following a Freedom of Information request.

Mr Lyons did not hand over the document personally to Mr Vance as was hoped, but it was passed instead to US officials, the Department for Communities said.

The Irish News has uncovered, without much difficulty, fairly definitive evidence from long-running DNA-based research that Mr Vance is not descended from Andrew, but is of an entirely different line.

The Vance families were concentrated around Barnbarroch in Scotland before some headed across during the Ulster plantation, including to Tyrone but also Donegal and other areas.

No DNA link

Dave Vance, a genealogist and president of the Vance Family Association, said he is “certain” there is no direct link between Andrew Vance and the US vice-president.

“There is no DNA link between the two sets of Vances,” he said.

In 2022, his group published DNA-based research founded on a more than decade-long project tracing the various Vance family trees as far as they could go.

One line mirrors that contained in the department-commissioned booklet now sitting somewhere in the White House, until it doesn’t. There are three generations of the wonderfully named Meekin Vance in this line, before landing at Abner.

Mr Lyons’ booklet states: “It is also believed that Abner’s father was Ephraim Vance, the son of Andrew Williamson Vance previously mentioned, although I have been unable to locate any records to prove the link.” The booklet also contains references to Coagh, where Andrew had lived.

But the DNA research published three years previously revealed that what is known about this line ends with an unconnected and differently first named American-born Vance and with ultimately unknown origins outside the US.

Dave Vance does believe they came from Ulster.

Abner’s father was called Matthew, born around 1726 in Augusta, Virginia, about seven years before Andrew landed in the US with his then 15-yearold son Ephraim, according to the published research.

When details of the “proverbial brick wall” encountered by the researcher emerged in May, the department doubled down, stating: “The research results traced a potential link to an Andrew Wiliamson Vance who was born in Ireland circa 1666 and emigrated circa 1733 to America.

“The research has been passed to US government officials and is hoped to be formally presented at a future date.”

Emails released earlier this year via a Freedom of Information request reveal that in February Mr Lyons’ office was told “it has not been possible to establish conclusive proof of a direct Vance link back to Ulster at this stage”.

The researcher had “run into the proverbial brick wall” and amid continuing work there was “no guarantee” of success, according to the emails obtained by The Times newspaper.

‘A bit more to do’

An official at Mr Lyons’ office wrote: “There is maybe a bit more to do locally to better trace (the vice-president’s) roots, but at this stage I think we have to go with what we have.”

The official added that work should begin “to get a draft done in a day or so but this is a top priority”.

Instead of the preferred hardback edition which the minister requested, it was decided to move ahead with

“There is maybe a bit more to do locally to better trace [the vicepresident’s] roots, but at this stage I think we have to go with what we have

Official at Gordon Lyons’ office a “coated paper” production, which Mr Lyons would sign.

As Mr Lyons travelled to Washington in March, a department spokesperson said: “The Public Record Office of NI has been working on tracing JD Vance’s ancestry and has compiled a history which Minister Lyons plans to present during today’s event in Washington.”

The research was contracted out.

In his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, JD Vance wrote: “To understand me, you must understand that I am a Scots Irish hillbilly at heart.”

Arguably, Mr Lyons might want to ask the White House for the booklet back and do some more work if he wants to nail down that heart’s actual lineage – before any formal presentation.

Even eminent judge blasts NI’s broken criminal justice system

Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, September 1st, 2025

With yet another violent death in Northern Ireland — the ninth in as many weeks — there are questions about the nature of our society.

There are, of course, a variety of reasons and many contributing factors whenever someone is killed.

Not all crimes are preventable. Some occur in the spur of the moment when people act entirely out of character, but in my experience they are rare.

More often there are warning signs around either the vulnerability of the victim or a pattern of behaviour by the perpetrator.

Leaving aside the circumstances of the recent killings, as there are charges pending in all apart from those of Vanessa Whyte and her children Sara and James, and that is because the only suspect, Ian Rutledge, shot himself.

But there have been a number of killings in recent years with a very definite pattern of violent behaviour that could have — if properly addressed — potentially saved lives.

It is increasingly clear devolution is failing on all counts.

While crime falls to the Department of Justice in terms of policing and prisons, and to the Public Prosecution Service, that is to simplify all offending to a purely criminal justice solution.

Lack safe refuges for victims

Often there are numerous other factors. For example housing, with victims unable to find a safe place to flee to, or offenders struggling to find stable accommodation, minimising the risk of them drifting back into criminality.

There is a shortage of addiction services for those with drug and alcohol dependency — both recognised as factors in offending.

We have high levels of dependency on prescription medication, addictions that can be linked back to the legacy of our past, but also to our inexcusable hospital waiting lists, with people living in chronic pain for years and self-medicating to the point of serious addiction. We also have a mental health crisis.

Tackling violence, either in the home or on the streets, needs all government departments working together to ensure the smooth running of every aspect of our society.

But even the most optimistic political observer would admit that we are operating in a state of continuous dysfunction.

Meanwhile, nothing functions as it should and the vulnerable fall through the cracks.

Repeat offenders go unchecked

The behaviour of repeat offenders in an increasingly angry society goes unchecked until they kill someone and then the usual transfer of responsibility begins, with no one wanting to take ownership of failings.

It's not often you get to see an example of this pattern playing out so obviously and in real time, but in recent days we did, thanks to District Judge Mark Hamill, a man of unquestionable integrity.

In scathing remarks aimed at the Public Prosecution Service, Mr Hamill said he had “never been so incensed” about a case being heard in the lower Magistrates Court.

He was speaking about Craigavon man Stephen Gracey (32), who assaulted a woman.

Gracey turned up at the victim's home, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her to the floor.

It is the kind of domestic violence case heard in courts here daily.

Repeated attacks on women

However, the court was also told Gracey had been previously sentenced to seven months for attacking a different woman in Portadown in 2023.

On that occasion Gracey smashed the woman's head off a wall and threw away her mobile phone.

When arrested he headbutted a constable, and attempted to do so again to the same officer in the police station.

Last Thursday Mr Hamill hit out at the decision not to have the case sent to the Crown Court, where the maximum sentence for the offences is 14 years, not the two years he was constrained by.

“I have been on the bench since March 31, 1999 and I'm about to pass the heaviest sentence I have passed in all that time,” he added.

Gracey was given 20 months for non-fatal strangulation and five months (concurrent) for common assault.

Unfortunately, Mr Hamill is soon to retire from the bench. It will be a loss when he goes.

Those younger or more recently appointed judges should take note. Those in power should also pay attention.

The current system is shambolic and in need of complete reform.

But that is never going to happen with an Executive that is using chewing gum to plug a leaking dam.

Speaking of which… 'Biblical' rainfall at Royal Black Preceptory Last Saturday parade

By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, September 1st, 2025

It has been a wet end to the summer with Northern Ireland experiencing some of the heaviest rainfall in the UK at the weekend – with certain areas caught in short but heavy downpours.

(Buy Monday’s News Letter for a 16-page Last Saturday picture supplement)

Heavy rain in Dundrum on Saturday resulted in the Royal Black Preceptory demonstration in the village being seriously curtailed. The return parade from the field was abandoned, as were the home district parades in their own towns.

One attendee at the Dundrum procession described the conditions when the main parade was taking place as “Biblical”, with “very severe” rain and wind.

The Met Office said there was in excess of five millimetres of rainfall across all of its rain gauges in Northern Ireland, however, the wettest spot in the province was Derrylin in Fermanagh – which recorded 18.8mm on Saturday.

Just behind it was Loch Fay in Co Tyrone with 16.2mm, and Killylane in Co Antrim had 16.0mm.

Murlough – not far from the washed out Black parade in Dundrum – came in fourth with 12.4mm. However, well over half of that rain fell in a short period, the Met Office said.

Parts of Northern Ireland hit by heavy rain got off lightly, however, compared to some parts of the Republic of Ireland. Twenty-six mm of rain was recorded at Connaught airport, the Met Office said.

The highest recorded rainfall in the UK as a whole was 19mm recorded in Machrihanish in Scotland.

“The Republic of Ireland had some even wetter conditions. But, quite widely across Northern Ireland, we probably had had at least five to 10 millimetres,” a Met Office spokesperson said.

“A few spots had in the region of 15 to 20 millimetres of rain. So quite a widely wet day. It wasn't just like the odd spot which had a deluge – with quite a few areas recording in excess of 15 millimetres.”

The unsettled weather will continue this week, as today sees another day of sunshine and scattered showers. Some of rain will be quite heavy, possibly thundery – with many areas escaping the heaviest of the rain.

The unsettled picture is expected to continue through the rest of the week.

We must eliminate inequalities and barriers women continue to face

COMMENT: Geraldine McGahey, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission.

Belfast Telegraph, September 1st, 2025

Almost 70% of women are employed in Northern Ireland. Our economy and broader society needs their skills, talents and commitment. However, women are more likely to work part-time, and to be economically inactive.

Over recent decades we have seen real progress. Women have made significant gains in securing senior positions across our workforce and in public roles.

We have a Lady Chief Justice and both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister posts are held by women.

In addition, 40% of our MLAs are women, a level that brings us more in line with other parts of the UK.

While this progress is to be welcomed, in many sectors women continue to be under-represented at the most senior levels.

There needs to be sustained support and effort to enable other women to come forward, to work toward and seize the opportunities, the jobs, and all the rewards and benefits that come with them.

To help them do this we must eliminate the inequalities and barriers that women continue to face.

Sex discrimination

Every year around a fifth of the calls to our discrimination advice line relate to sex discrimination.

Pregnancy and maternity form the biggest area of complaint, with sexual harassment at work a very close second.

While most employers want a productive, harmonious, diverse and welcoming workplace, there are clearly still instances where women experience discrimination at work.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to women's equality at work here remains the absence of affordable childcare. Availability of appropriate, accessible and affordable childcare is essential to help parents, particularly mothers, to find and keep a job and progress into leadership roles.

Early Learning and Childcare Strategy

The Executive plans to consult on Early Learning and Childcare Strategy in the autumn. The strategy should ensure the availability of high-quality childcare that meets the diverse needs of all families.

It should also deal with the root causes of inequality, and tackle gender stereotypes around caring responsibilities.

Childcare is a responsibility for women and men. Employers play a key role here: flexible working, hybrid arrangements and family-friendly policies all make it easier for women, and men, to balance work and caring.

Gender pay gap reporting regulations, alongside a gender pay strategy and action plan, must also be introduced.

The gender pay gap impacts not only income but also career advancement, savings for retirement and financial independence.

The Pensions Policy Institute reported last year that women in their late 50s across the UK have less than two-thirds of the pension saving of men. Much of this disparity stems from women taking time off, or being unable to access full-time work, often due to caring responsibilities.

In education, subject choice can impact on future employment and limit women's ability to progress in the labour market.

The Commission has highlighted the undervaluation of paid and unpaid care work, which is mostly carried out by women.

Unfortunately, many women in Northern Ireland carry the burden of unpaid caring duties, interrupted work histories and are more likely to be underemployed or stuck in precarious or low-paid employment.

The Commission believes that everyone is entitled to an equal chance of rewarding and interesting work including at the highest levels. We want a Northern Ireland where everyone can reach their full potential in their chosen career or job.